The present invention is directed to systems, apparatus and methods of providing data services to a user, and more specifically, to a method for activating and deactivating such services on a client device using a server communicating with the client device over a network.
Data services include, for example, data, content, applications, functions, and processes that are communicated to a client device over a network from a server or other source. Providing the services therefore requires the use of network resources, such as bandwidth, as well as processing and data storage resources of the client and server devices. In addition, providing data services over a network can introduce inefficiencies and a less than optimal user experience because of inherent characteristics of the network, e.g., latency.
One situation in which the network characteristics and resource constraints of the network, client, or server can become important is in the provision of new services to a client device. Such services can include new applications, new content (e.g., a screensaver, image, or file), data processing capabilities, eCommerce functions, enabling a new or modified function, or other services that are desired to be active on the client device. Typically, such new services must be downloaded to the client over the network from a remote content server or other source. The new service must then be installed and executed by the client device.
In other cases, it may be necessary to provide configuration or access control data to a client device in order to activate a service that was present, but inactive, in a client. For some services, this may not be practicable due to a potential significant increase of traffic on the network or because there does not exist a system for providing such configuration or access control data. In some situations, it may be desirable to de-activate a service that already is present and was previously activated on a client device. Such a situation may arise when a user no longer wishes to be billed for a service, or a service provider finds it necessary to curtail usage of the service.
A disadvantage of these methods for providing services to a client device is that they require either that a large amount of data be transported, or that multiple exchanges of data occur in order to configure and activate a service. For example, if it requires probing a network system to activate or deactivate a client service, the overhead these probing activities represent on the network may be significant and unnecessary, especially if the service is never activated. Moreover, they may increase the delay for a client device to access a distant content on a network. Further, these methods of providing services may not have an associated method of de-activating a service.
What is desired is a system and method for activating and de-activating a service for a client device that overcomes the noted disadvantages.